Social Distortion has announced their long-awaited return with Born To Kill, their first new album in 15 years, arriving May 8, 2026 via Epitaph Records. Alongside the announcement, the band has released the album’s title track and an accompanying video, giving fans their first official taste of what comes next from the Orange County legends.
Born To Kill is not framed as a comeback record so much as a reaffirmation. Across 11 songs, the album captures everything that has defined Social Distortion for more than four decades, raw rock and roll, bruised romance, defiance and clarity earned the hard way. It is also the band’s first release since frontman Mike Ness recovered from cancer, and that perspective gives the record a sense of forward motion rather than reflection.
The title track wastes no time establishing the album’s tone. It is loud, direct and unapologetic, nodding to the spirit of artists like Lou Reed, Iggy and the Stooges and David Bowie without losing the band’s own voice. Elsewhere, songs such as Tonight and The Way Things Were tap into the emotional weight Social Distortion have always carried so well, recalling the honesty of earlier classics while standing firmly in the present.
Co produced by Mike Ness and Dave Sardy, Born To Kill features guest appearances from Benmont Tench and Lucinda Williams, along with cover art created by Ness in collaboration with Shepard Fairey. The album sits naturally alongside the band’s catalog while sounding alive and immediate.
Photo credit: Madison Hedgecock
Tracklist
01 Born To Kill
02 No Way Out
03 The Way Things Were
04 Tonight
05 Partners In Crime
06 Crazy Dreamer
07 Wicked Game
08 Walk Away (Don’t Look Back)
09 Never Goin’ Back Again
10 Don’t Keep Me Hanging On
11 Over You
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